Alright imma keep this short and sweet, since the authors note on the first version of this chapter was neither short nor sweet.
1) i don't own anything you may recognize, including the characters or songs mentioned.
2) For the purpose of this chapter, assume that they already had the conversation about the close call in Jacksonville before the events of this chapter take place. I was too lazy to write it and didn't think it was needed.
That is all! Enjoy!
-Ej :)
one month later
december 23rd, 2019, 9:37 A.M.
Austin sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He fumbled for his phone and found that he had a couple of new messages from Ally, asking if he was going to be able to join her family for Christmas dinner the following evening. He smiled and texted back "Only if you come to brunch with my fam on Christmas Day ;)" and rolled out of bed. He, Ally, Dez, and Trish had all been so busy with planning their upcoming tour and a special holiday showcase, which was that afternoon, that they hadn't seen each other for over a month now. He was looking forward to seeing everybody again, even if it was for something work-related. Being with his friends and girlfriend made everything fun.
Austin pulled on some clothes, brushed his teeth and styled his hair, and bounded down the stairs with excitement. Though he had his own apartment, his parents had begged him to come home for the holidays, which he didn't have a problem with—his mom always made special Christmas pancakes when their entire family got together on Christmas day. Mimi was in the kitchen, making scrambled eggs, and Mike was at the table, studying the newspaper in front of him carefully, and sipping his coffee.
"Morning, mom," Austin greeted, grabbing a granola bar from the bowl on the counter. He pulled his shoes on and grabbed his keys.
"Morning, sweetie," Mimi responded. "Don't you want some scrambled eggs before you go? You should have some protein— you've got a big day ahead of you."
"Nah, I'm okay. I have to get going to set everything up. I'll see you guys later! Bye, love you!" Austin rushed out the door, and his parents exchanged glances. Mimi chuckled.
"Love you too, son."
At the Music Factory, Ally, and Trish were already setting up for the showcase. Ally was adding decorations to the instruments to make them more festive and Trish was over on the couch, answering emails. Ally smiled as she pulled some mistletoe out of a box she was unpacking.
"This needs to go up, for sure." She grabbed the ladder and went over to the doorway, a smile etched across her face. Ally remembered the Christmas they'd spent together at the Shredder's party when she and Austin hadn't been able to get their mistletoe kiss. This year, she was determined to make it happen.
Trish looked up from her computer and grinned. She was wondering how Austin was going to be able to keep his special Valentine's Day proposal in Paris a secret, especially when they were going to be around each other every single day leading up to it. She had already booked the Paris venue for February 13th, but she'd told Austin it was up to him to book his reservation at the Eiffel Tower restaurant for the 14th. As her friend hung the mistletoe in the doorway, Trish thought about how happy she was for Ally. They'd been through numerous breakups and a rollercoaster of a relationship, but they'd still managed to find their way back to each other (with her and Dez's help, of course). Pretty soon, she thought, I'll be calling her Ally Moon. She turned her attention back toward the computer and kept typing.
A few minutes later, Austin walked in with a tray full of coffees in hand. He glanced up at Ally, who was just about done pinning up the mistletoe and smiled. Ally noticed him and descended the ladder.
"Rules are rules," she said, planning a kiss on his lips.
"I like that rule." He handed her a cup and she gladly took it.
"I didn't even ask you to bring me one, how thoughtful." She took a sip and Austin shrugged.
"I figured you'd be here early setting up, so I got drinks for all of us." He walked over and handed one to Trish, who gladly took it.
"Thank God you brought coffee," Trish commented, "I had to get up at eight in the morning. Eight!"
Austin chuckled. "You're welcome," he turned to Ally. "It looks nice in here."
"Thanks," she replied, grinning. "We actually don't have that much more to do. The kids are going to start getting here at noon, and then they rehearse for an hour, and the showcase is at two. So we have a little bit of downtime to figure out some tour things until then."
"Great, because I actually had an idea," Austin said, pulling out his phone. "I just got this new app called Tiktok, and it's basically a"—
"I know what Tiktok is, Austin. I have one, too," she pulled out her phone to show him her account.
"Okay, hear me out—What if you recorded yourself doing 'The Ally Way?' Think about it. It's got such a Tiktok dance vibe!"
Ally grinned. "I don't know...I feel like people would make fun of me. I recorded that song as a joke."
"I'll pay you fifty dollars."
"Deal." Austin shook her hand, and Trish rolled her eyes.
"You're seriously going to pay her fifty dollars to make a one-minute video?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.
Austin nodded, setting Ally's phone up on the table. "Yup! I'd pay anything to see her do that dance again."
"Okay, now how do I do this?" Ally asked. Austin walked her through the process of uploading the audio. He showed her how to set up the countdowns, and before long, she'd started recording.
Step one: climb the rope, climb the rope, climb! the! rope!
Step two: wash the windows, wash the windows, wash the windows...
Austin smiled as he watched her dance, and all of a sudden Ally turned towards him and grabbed his arm, pulling him into view of the camera. Oh boy.
Austin struggled to keep up with his girlfriend as they did each step of the dance, and finally after about thirty more seconds, the song ended and they both struck a pose.
Trish raised her eyebrows. "Wow, that was...that was really something."
Ally giggled as they watched the video back, and Austin showed her how to post it. She captioned the video, "I'm alive guys...still don't know how to dance, though."
When she checked her notifications ten minutes later, it had already gotten a thousand likes. She turned to Austin and held out her hand. "Pay up." Austin smirked and pulled $50 out of his wallet, putting it in her hand. The song might have been a joke, but his love for her wasn't— it didn't matter what she was doing.
A few more hours passed, and the students started to show up at the factory, one by one. Before long, it was almost time for the show to begin. While Austin and Ally were finishing up the decorations, they chatted about a few students that they hadn't seen in a long time and were excited to reunite with—particularly one former student that was famous for having a phobia of yams.
"I can't believe that our Ridley is a platinum recording artist! The amount of growth she had just while we were working with her was incredible. I can't wait to see her again and feature her as our special guest artist," she said to Austin as they were wrapping garland around the silver railings.
"Yeah, I mean, when she started out, she was afraid of yams. Yams!" Austin chuckled. "I feel like a proud parent."
Ally smiled as she wrapped the final strand. "Decorations...check!" She turned to Trish. "Did you get the food ordered?"
"Yeah, I did," Trish confirmed, "It should be here shortly." Ally nodded and turned to start greeting the guests, who were starting to trickle in.
About a half an hour later, most of the guests had shown up. By that time, Dez had successfully traveled to get the food and made it back without spilling anything (to everyone's complete surprise). Ally hopped up onstage and motioned for Austin to join her. They introduced Ridley and the small crowd cheered as she made her way down from the practice room, singing her rendition of "Underneath the Tree." Austin and Ally watched intently, and Ally even teared up a little thinking about how far Ridley had come since they'd first started working with her.
After she was done, a few of the current students did a cover of "I Love Christmas," and Austin pulled Ally close, both of them swaying slightly as they watched. He couldn't believe that the students at the A&A Music Factory were now doing covers of their songs. After that, it was time for Austin and Ally to perform a song themselves— a cover of "My Song For You," as performed on one of their favorite sketch shows, So Random. They got up onstage and both sat down at the piano. Ally grabbed the microphone and cleared her throat.
"Everyone, give it up once again for all of the students from the A&A Music Factory!" The crowd cheered and she grinned, looking over at Austin. "To close out the night, Austin and I are going to perform one of our favorite Christmas songs that you will probably recognize. So, without further ado, this is 'My Song For You.' We hope you like it." She put the microphone back on its stand and played the opening measures on the piano.
Didn't know what to get you
Ordinary just wouldn't do
But I just found the perfect gift
For you...
Ally looked at Austin lovingly as she sang, and he smiled, making her smile. They locked eyes and didn't break contact for another few seconds, and the smiles stayed plastered on their faces. As they harmonized on the lead up to the chorus, Trish whispered to Dez that she had goosebumps.
We've got mistletoe and firelight
On this cold December Night
The snow outside will set the mood
As I sing my song for you...
Before long, Austin and Ally had finished their performance and the guests started to leave one by one. Dez and Trish stayed to help them with teardown since the factory would be closed for the next few days and they needed to make sure it was cleaner than they'd found it. After spending about an hour cleaning up, Trish and Dez went home. Austin and Ally stayed to lock up.
Ally sighed as she came back downstairs from turning the lights off in the practice room. "Long day, huh?" she mused, unplugging the piano and guitar amps.
"Yeah," Austin agreed, "It was a good day, though." He smiled at her and she returned it. Just then, her eyes caught sight of the mistletoe in the doorway.
"There's one more thing I want to do," she said, a smirk growing on her face.
"What's that?" he asked, stifling a laugh.
She rolled her eyes. "Just come here." She went over to where he was sitting on the couch and dragged him over to the doorway.
"Ohhh." Without hesitation, she reached up and kissed him on the lips. Austin deepened it, unable to wipe the stupidly lovesick smile off his face. A few seconds later, they both let go and pressed their foreheads against each other.
"You're a really good kisser, you know that?" he asked. She grinned.
"So I've been told." With that, she kissed him again, and this time, they both held on a little longer.
the next day
around 4:45 p.m.
The following evening, Austin stared at himself in the mirror as he pulled his favorite shirt and blazer on. He was supposed to leave for Ally's house in a few minutes and he'd spent the last half an hour making sure that his hair was perfect and there wasn't a single wrinkle in his clothes. He'd recently been taught how to iron by his mom and he used that skill to his advantage. He also realized that this was the last time he would see Ally's parents before the proposal and that he'd need to make a good impression on them, even though he'd known them for years.
No pressure there.
Mimi knocked lightly on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Well, you're already halfway in, so, I guess," Austin deadpanned, trying to fix the part in his hair. Mimi went over to him and put one hand on each of his shoulders.
"You nervous?"
"Nah, it's not like I have to hide the fact that I'm proposing in less than two months...in Paris...while we're on tour..."
"Don't worry, sweetie. They're gonna love you! It's not like this is your first time meeting Ally's parents."
"Yeah, but..." Austin paused, trying to make sense of the millions of thoughts swirling around in his brain. "Sometimes I think Lester is judging me. Like he doesn't think I'm good enough for his daughter."
"Nonsense. They've always loved you, and you know that," she gave his shoulders a pat. "Now, you'd better get going, or else you're going to be late."
Austin grinned and kissed his mom on the cheek. "Thanks, mom." He headed down the stairs and out to his car, shivering a little in the cool breeze. While it never reached frigid temperatures in Miami, even in December, it was definitely a big change from the summer heat. He turned his key in the ignition and fastened his seatbelt, then started down the driveway. Here goes nothing.
Austin pulled into Ally's driveway and shut his car off, then opened the door and shivered. I should've brought a warmer jacket, he thought as he walked up to the front porch, rubbing his already sweaty hands on his pants. He rang the doorbell with a shaky hand. Penny greeted him with a smile a few seconds later.
"Hey Austin, come on in! Ally's still upstairs getting ready." He nodded, and already started up the stairs to her room when he heard Lester's voice.
"Where do you think you're going, mister?" He heard Lester's voice ask from the living room, and he turned around and smiled.
"Hey, Lester," Austin said with an awkward wave. "I'm just going to say hi to Ally really quick."
"Well, before you do that, come here. I want to talk to you for a minute," Lester took his glasses off and Austin stepped down from the stairs hesitantly.
"Uh, okay. What about?" he asked nervously.
"I heard that you're asking the big question when you guys get to Paris," Lester started, and Austin felt himself start to sweat.
"Uh, yeah. I am," Austin hesitated. "Are you...okay with that?"
"Austin," Lester put his hand on Austin's shoulder, "When Ally met you, something changed inside her. She went from being this shy songwriter to this confident, outgoing young lady—and that was all because of you," Lester paused, "If you're worried about me not giving me blessing, then worry no more. I support this 100%."
Austin's eyes widened and a smiled grew on his face. "Really?"
"Really." Lester held his arms out and embraced Austin in a hug.
"Thanks, Mr. Dawson. I'll take good care of her, I promise."
Lester grinned. "Oh, please. Call me dad."
The evening went by quicker than expected. Though everyone at the table except Ally knew about Austin's proposal plans and would shoot him a smirk or glance once in a while, she never suspected a thing. As Penny, Lester, Austin, Ally, and Penny's parents, Marie and Ed, ate their Christmas Eve dinner, Austin felt the butterflies in his stomach slowly disappear. Now that he was sure Lester was okay with him proposing, all he had to worry about was the actual proposal itself. When Austin got home that night, he pulled up the webpage for the Eiffel Tower and clicked 'Make a Reservation.' He scrolled down to the restaurant on the second floor, Le Jules Verne, and clicked 'book.' His eyes widened when he saw the price, but he continued to put in his personal information. If this was going to make Ally happy, it would be worth it.
Five minutes later, he got the confirmation email for his reservation—7:30 on February 14th, 2020. Austin felt a smile creep involuntarily onto his face and closed his laptop. He couldn't wait.
february 12th, 2020
seven weeks later
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are about a half an hour out from Paris, where it's currently a balmy 42 degrees and partly cloudy. Please put away all mobile devices and fasten your seatbelts. Attendants, prepare for landing." Austin paused the video he was watching on his phone and looked over at Ally, who was sound asleep, her head resting on his shoulder. He grinned and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. Her eyes slowly opened and she smiled when she saw Austin.
"We're here, Als. We're in Paris."
"Really?" she mumbled sleepily. Austin laughed.
"Yeah. Well, almost there. We land in about twenty minutes."
"Oh. Well, in that case, I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight."
Austin rolled his eyes. "You're cute."
"I know," Ally sighed, putting her head back on his shoulder and closing her eyes again.
Across the aisle, Dez was writhing in his seat like a worm, and Trish was starting to get impatient. Though she'd warned him that drinking the 'ultra big gulp' he'd gotten at the airport right before they boarded was a bad idea, he shrugged it off and drank the whole thing anyway. Now, though, he was starting to regret it.
"Trish, let me out! I need to GO!"
"You're gonna need to hold it, because we're on our way down," Trish muttered, flipping through her fashion magazine. "Why didn't you go when the fasten seatbelt sign wasn't on?"
"Because I didn't need to go then!" he whined, crossing his arms. Trish shook her head, glad that the flight was almost over. Though it had only been a little over an hour since they'd left London, she was more than ready to get off the plane.
Before long, the plane had started its descent, and the four of them were now starting to slowly gather their things. Austin had double triple checked that the ring was in his suitcase before they'd left for Amsterdam almost a month ago— and multiple times since then— but he was still nervous that it wasn't in his suitcase. What if it had fallen out during the flight somehow, and he didn't have a ring to give Ally? He felt his hands start to sweat and he twiddled his thumbs in anticipation.
Ally glanced over at her boyfriend, noticing that seemed on edge all of a sudden. "You okay?" she asked. "You seem...nervous."
"Pfft. Nervous? Why would you say that?" Austin's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean, yeah. I'm fine. I'm just, uh... a little antsy to get off the plane."
Ally grinned. "This flight was only an hour long."
"Yeah, but I've had to pee for about twenty minutes," Austin explained, starting to squirm a little. "I shouldn't have let Dez talk me into drinking all that soda before we left."
"I thought you talked him into drinking that?"
"We dared each other," Austin replied, wincing. "Geez, how long does it take to land a plane?" Ally chuckled and rubbed his arm.
"It won't be long now, don't worry."
Twenty minutes later, just when Austin thought he was going to wet himself, they touched down in Paris. Ally looked out the window the entire way down, glaring at the bright lights of the city against the night sky. As they were descending, she had pointed out the Eiffel Tower, commenting about how she wished they had time to visit it. Austin grinned to himself, nodding in agreement and saying that it was too bad, since it was such a famous landmark. Little did she know, her wish would be coming true in less than forty-eight hours.
After their plane landed in Paris and their bus picked them up at the airport, the four friends checked into their hotel. Upon arrival, Austin grabbed the key to his room from Trish and darted up the stairs to his room to make sure the ring was still in his suitcase. Ally narrowed her eyebrows.
"I wonder what's going on with him?" she mused as she, Trish, and Dez climbed the grand staircase.
"Don't ask me," Trish replied.
"I have absolutely no idea." Dez bit his lip as they reached the top, and Trish shot him a look that said 'if you say a single word about the proposal, I'll murder you in your sleep.' Ally shrugged, not noticing their exchange. Trish and Dez disappeared into their rooms, and instead of opening hers, Ally knocked on Austin's door.
Inside, Austin had ripped open his bag and was throwing the contents everywhere. His heart started racing when he didn't see the ring on top, where he remembered putting it. His breathing became heavier and he put his hands on his head, trying to remember if he'd put it in one of the pockets. He heard a knock at the door followed by Ally's voice asking if he was okay, and decided he couldn't risk opening the door. He cleared his throat softly and responded that he was, and he just needed to use the bathroom really bad.
Ally frowned. "Okay," she said, but she wasn't at all convinced. There was something that Austin wasn't telling her, and she was pretty sure that Trish and Dez knew about it, too. She just needed to figure out what it was.
Austin spent the next several minutes looking under the piles of clothes that were now on the floor and searching the pockets of the bag. The ring wasn't there. He started to panic almost to the point of tears when someone else knocked on his door.
"Who is it?" Austin asked, his voice getting shaky.
"It's me, dude," Dez responded. "I, uh...I have something for you." Austin ran over to the door and threw it open to find Trish and Dez standing there.
"Please tell me you have the ring," he begged softly, and Dez grinned.
"Of course I do, dude. You gave it to me before we left, remember?" Dez glanced left and right to make sure Ally hadn't come out of her room and reached into his pocket for the velvet ring box. He placed it in his friend's hand and Austin pocketed it, giving a grateful nod.
"Thanks."
"Are you okay? You look like you've been crying," Trish asked with concern. Austin nodded.
"Yeah. I am now." He turned around and started picking his clothes up off the floor. Dez and Trish exchanged glances. They followed him into the room and Trish shut the door behind her.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with," she lowered her voice, unsure if Ally could hear them through the walls, "the proposal, would it?"
Austin sighed and sat down on the bed. "Of course, it does. I don't know why, but I've been so nervous about it since we got here. And it must be obvious, because I think Ally's onto me."
"Don't worry, buddy. As long as you don't mess up and make Ally say no, everything will be fine," Dez said calmly, putting his hands on his hips and sporting a reassuring grin. Trish punched him in the shoulder.
"Not helping." Dez stuck out his lip and hung his head. Trish sat down next to Austin, speaking in a hushed tone. "Look, you have two choices here. You can give Ally her dream proposal at the Eiffel tower on Friday, or, if you feel like you're too nervous about it, you can wait. I get that it's scary to think about, and I support you either way. But you don't want to go through all this trouble just to back out at the last minute, do you?"
Austin fiddled with the ring case as Trish talked. He knew that she was right. After all, Trish was right about most things. After thinking for a minute, Austin finally spoke up.
"You're right, Trish. I'm gonna do it." Trish and Dez smiled. A subtle grin grew on his Austin's face. The clock was ticking, and though he was getting more nervous by the minute, he knew that this was the right thing to do. He couldn't wait to see the look on Ally's face.
48 hours later
friday, february 14th, 5:30 P.M.
Austin stood in front of the mirror in his hotel room's bathroom, adjusting his tie. He pulled the flap of his collar over the tie and pulled it tight, smoothing over his jacket. Austin checked his phone; their reservation was in less than two hours. He'd told Ally to put on the nicest dress she'd packed and to meet him in his room at 6:00, and though she looked a little skeptical, she agreed right away. Knowing Austin, she had figured that whatever he had planned would be romantic.
Dez and Trish were already at the Eiffel tower, setting everything up— although Ally thought that they were meeting with the owners of the venue that they were playing— and Dez promised he would text when they were ready. Austin was extremely thankful that they had agreed to help. Trish's management skills would come in handy when it came to making sure the string quartet showed up on time, Dez had insisted on recording the entire thing (even if she said no, he had pointed out, which didn't make Austin feel any better). They'd planned it all out: After he and Ally finished their first course, he'd bring her onto the terrace to look over the lights of the city, and then he'd pop the question. If everything went smoothly, he'd be calling Ally his fiancée at the end of the night.
That is, if everything went according to plan. There was always the possibility of the string quartet getting lost and being late, or Dez forgetting to hit record, or—
Nope. Stay calm. You've got this.
Austin grabbed his hair gel and squirted some in his left hand, then rubbed them together. Do I want to slick it back? Or is that too...not me? He stared into the mirror for a few seconds and ultimately decided to try it. Tonight, he was going to go all out—even if it meant he looked like a blond Elvis.
He slowly and gently applied the hair gel, moving his hands back to even the spread. Austin dried his hands on the towel next to him and moved his fingers over the lump in his pocket, and breathed a deep sigh of relief. This was it: the day was finally here. He flipped the lights off and went over to Ally's room to see if she was ready.
Austin let out a shaky breath and shook out his hands, then knocked on her door three times.
"One second!" Ally yelled from inside the room. When she opened the door, his jaw dropped . She was wearing a sleeveless, sparkly red dress that extended down to her knees and her curls were more defined. Her mascara brought out her hazel eyes more than usual, and dark red lipstick lined her lips.
"Hey," she said, grinning, while Austin stood in the doorway, completely speechless.
"H-hi," was all he could muster, then, "Wow. You look...wow..."
Ally giggled. "Thanks, you too." She reached up and touched his hair, and he put his hand on hers. She slowly brought it down, and Austin gripped it tighter. He planted a light kiss on her forehead and they stood there for a few seconds in silence.
Austin cleared his throat. "So, um, do you want to get going?"
"Yeah, where are we going, anyway?" she asked. Austin smirked.
"I'm not telling you until we get there—it's a surprise," he replied. Ally groaned.
"Why not?"
"Because," Austin laughed, "We'd better get going, though. We're on a time crunch." Ally nodded and they made their way to the front of the hotel, where their Uber had arrived a few minutes earlier. Their driver greeted them and Austin confirmed that he was there to pick them up before they took off. Austin then pulled out a bandana from his pocket and started tying it around Ally's forehead. She resisted at first but Austin insisted she had to wear it in order to keep the destination a surprise. Ally finally gave in, and Austin smiled to himself. He couldn't believe that she hadn't caught on already.
When they arrived at the Eiffel Tower, Austin thanked their driver and led Ally out of the car. She jumped up and down repeatedly, begging to take the bandana off.
"Austin, please can I take it off? Please!?" Austin sighed.
"Okay, fine." He spun her in the direction of the tower, which was right above them now, and slipped her bandana off.
Ally gasped and put her hands to her face. "Oh my..." They stood and admired the glimmering lights for a few minutes before Austin broke the silence.
"Well? Do you want to go up?" Ally nodded vigorously, still speechless. Austin took her hand and they walked toward the south elevator, which brought them up to the restaurant. On the way up, Austin received a text from Dez, saying that everything was in place. He looked over at Ally, who was glancing out the window, completely awestruck. He replied to Dez with a thumbs-up emoji and smiled as the elevator doors opened. They walked hand-in-hand to the reservation counter and were led to their table by the waitress.
After about a half hour, Austin and Ally received their first course. While they were eating, Austin's phone buzzed again. This time, it was from Trish. It said that the staff was starting to clear everyone off the terrace and the quartet would begin playing shortly. Austin replied, saying he'd take her out there in a few minutes, and Trish grinned behind her phone, showing the text to Dez. She could barely contain her excitement as she went over to the quartet and told them to start playing. She retreated behind a pillar, where Dez had his camera set up.
Before long, Austin and Ally had both finished their main courses. Austin sent a text to Dez saying, "It's go time," then looked up and cleared his throat.
"So, do you want to go check out the terrace?" he asked, trying to hide the nervousness that was creeping into his voice.
Ally smiled. "I thought you'd never ask." Austin grabbed her hand and they started walking toward the terrace, his heart beating a million miles an hour. As they got closer, he could hear the faint sound of the quartet playing "Two in a Million."
They walked outside, hand in hand, and Austin felt his pocket for probably the thousandth time that day. He looked over at Ally, who was admiring the view. Her hair tousled by the wind, her features being spotlit by the lights of the tower, she looked stunning.
"It's so beautiful up here," she said, squeezing his hand a little tighter.
"Yeah, this view's pretty nice," Austin agreed, "But not as beautiful as you." Ally blushed and leaned up against his shoulder.
"Hey, they're playing Two in a Million!" she laughed as she glanced over at the string quartet comprised of a viola, violin, cello, and bass. "That's our song," she said quietly.
"Yeah," Austin smiled. This was it. It was now or never. "Hey, um, Als?" Ally turned her head to face him and grinned. "There's, uh, something I want to talk to you about."
Ally narrowed her eyebrows, but the smile never disappeared from her face. "Uh, alright, what do you want to talk about?" Austin turned to face her, took both of her hands in his, and cleared his throat. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.
"When I met you back at Sonic Boom all those years ago, you made me do a double take—you completely changed my life...for the better. I guess you could say that you turned it upside down." she smiled at his song references, looking down at the ground.
"And from there, it just got better. You made my heart beat out of my chest—you still do." Austin paused, fighting back tears. "When we were broken up, I was devastated, and... and miserable. I didn't know what to do with myself. I knew I needed to get you back— steal your heart again. I helped you break down walls you didn't know you could, and we became each other's parachute." Ally's smile widened. Is he doing what I think he's doing?
"The best day of my life was when we got back together on the Helen Show. I knew I couldn't let you go again. After all, we're two in a million, right? We just work better together." At this point, Austin's nerves were at an all-time high, his heart thumping in his chest as he reached into his right pants pocket. "With that being said..." Austin got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. He opened the box and looked up at her. Ally gasped, putting her hands to her face.
"Ally Dawson, will you make me the happiest man alive and...marry me?" Tears started to well up in Ally's eyes. She could hardly process what was happening, and her mind was racing a million miles a minute. Still, somehow, she managed to nod her head. "Yes!" she exclaimed, "Yes, yes, yes!" Austin got back up and slid the ring onto Ally's left ring finger— he could barely even get it on because he was shaking so bad and both of them laughed when he finally got it on because everything had been so perfect and this moment was perfect and they were so annoyingly in love that it physically hurt.
Austin leaned down to kiss her, placing his hand on her cheek, pouring every once of love that he had for her into this kiss and trying not to burst into tears, just because everything had worked out so perfectly. Ally returned it with equal intensity, wrapping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes. When they finally pulled away, Austin just looked at her for a second in awe.
Holy shit... That just happened!
Ally stared deep into his eyes. She hadn't stopped grinning since he'd gotten down on one knee. She noticed the somewhat vacant look in his eyes and said, "What are you thinking about?"
"A lot of things." Austin didn't notice the single tear that slipped out of his eye as he bowed his head. "But mostly about how I'm so damn lucky because I get to spend the rest of my life with you."
"Stop," Ally said, fighting back tears herself. "You're gonna make me cry!"
Austin let out a nervous laugh and sniffed. Ally reached to wipe another tear that had fallen from his cheek, her own eyes welling up in the process. He finally pulled her in for another hug and she rested her head on his shoulder, holding her hand out in front of her. Ally admired the ring thoughtfully as Austin pulled away, feeling over it with her other hand.
"You got the ring I wanted," she whispered. "How did you know?"
"A little birdie told me," Austin replied, glancing over at the pillar Trish and Dez were hiding behind.
"Can we come out now?" Trish peeked her head out from the pillar, and Dez's appeared on the other side.
"Yeah!" Dez exclaimed, getting emotional himself. "We're dying over here!"
Austin laughed, wiping away the tear that had started sliding down his cheek. "Of course, you can." Trish darted out from behind the pillar and ran over to Ally, shrieking.
"Let me see the ring!" Trish squealed. Ally giggled, holding out her hand so Trish could see it. She embraced her friend in a hug, unable to suppress the smile on her own face. "I'm so happy for you guys!"
"Congrats, buddy!" Dez patted Austin on the back. Austin thanked him and they did their handshake, both bursting into laughter afterwards. "What up?"
Ally came back over to Austin, embracing him in a side hug. "I don't know what I expected, but this was way better." Austin grinned, leaning down and kissing her forehead.
"Oh! Hey, Als, you wanna hear a funny story?" Austin asked, smirking. He showed no signs of being emotional now as he explained how Dez had gotten the ring stuck on his finger the day he bought it, trying and failing to fight back laughter. As expected, she found the story hysterical, and the four friends chatted for another hour before heading back to the hotel.
Ally leaned up against her fiancé on the Uber ride back, her eyelids growing heavy with each passing minute. The last few days had been a blast, but she was exhausted. Despite this, adrenaline coursed through Ally's veins—she was eager to call her parents and tell them the news when she woke up the next day. When Austin looked down at her a couple minutes later, she'd fallen asleep and was snoring softly. He smiled down at her lovingly, thinking, it doesn't get better than this.
AUSLLY FANS, REJOICE! They're getting married, y'all! Follow, favorite review, you know the drill! Much love to you all! *blows air kisses*- EJ